Humanitarian Aid and Situations of Fragility

In humanitarian crisis contexts, people with disabilities face specific challenges that put them at greater risk. Furthermore, people with motor, sensory, mental or intellectual disabilities are generally subject to discrimination and excluded from access to services and the distribution of basic necessities. Moreover, emergency situations, such as conflicts or natural disasters, may also lead to more people experiencing disabilities as a result of new injuries, such as physical impairments caused by the explosion of war devices or the collapse of infrastructure; the lack of quality and immediate medical care; or the collapse of essential services that may aggravate pre-existing conditions or caused by the disaster event, causing death or worsening the condition of the sick.

For Italian Cooperation, including persons with disabilities in emergency response interventions is viewed as a fundamental part of effective and principled humanitarian action and is necessary to ensure that crisis-affected people most at risk have access to basic aid and specific services that are essential for their survival, protection and recovery.

Therefore, disability is one of the priorities of humanitarian aid, as confirmed by Italy’s signing up to the Charter on the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul (2016). In 2015, Italian Cooperation also adopted the “Humanitarian Aid and Visibility” Vademecum, a “guidebook” for humanitarian workers that provides theoretical elements and concrete indications on how to protect and include disabled persons in humanitarian crises.

Then, in 2018, the Agency drafted the Guidelines for Social Disability and Inclusion in Cooperation Interventions, which include specific references to emergency contexts and humanitarian action.

In recent years, new protracted conflicts have coincided with other devastating crises, including natural disasters, epidemics and increasing food insecurity, all of which are disproportionately impacting on children and adolescents, girls in particular, who pay the highest price of humanitarian crises, also by losing access to all basic fundamental services, such as health, education and protection, with consequences that can scar them for life.

The promotion and protection of the rights of children and adolescents are pursued at international, European and national level. In 2021, in fact, Italian Cooperation adopted its “Guidelines on Childhood and Adolescence”, which contain theoretical elements and concrete indications on the protection of children and adolescents in humanitarian crises, and the Agency actively promotes interventions in favour of children in sectors such as protection, education, maternal and child health and nutrition in emergency and protracted crisis contexts. The initiatives are planned in continuity and contiguity with each other and are aimed at strengthening the cohesion of all social systems, i.e. households, schools, communities, institutions, cultural and religious systems. Particular attention is also paid to the intersectionality between minors and other forms of vulnerability associated, for example, to gender discrimination, disability or displacement.

The fundamental role of child education in emergency contexts has been greatly emphasised since the World Humaniarian Summit (2016), where the United Nations launched the “Education  Cannot  Wait initiative”, aimed precisely at responding effectively and promptly to the educational needs of minors living in crisis contexts, to which Italian Cooperation has contributed.

The promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment is crucial in humanitarian crises and fragile contexts, as crises and fragilities have disproportionate impacts on women.

The “Guidelines on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls” place the achievement of gender equality in humanitarian aid and in fragile contexts among the 6 intervention priorities of Italian Cooperation, emphasising how women and men are affected by crises in different ways and have different capacities to prepare for and react to emergencies, also because they are exposed to specific forms of vulnerability in different ways. This is why the Guidelines stress the importance of enhancing the role of women in humanitarian aid interventions from the very first stages of an emergency. They also provide that every humanitarian aid programme must include a gender analysis, to exclude any negative effects produced by humanitarian action. Furthermore, they commit Italian Cooperation to strengthening their action for women’s health, maternal and child health, and emergency obstetrics, for sanitation services, for support to medical and mental health services for survivors of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV), and for the training of all operators. These activities should be adapted to enable preventive interventions and the safe delivery of the services provided.

The Guidelines also reaffirm the fundamental role of women in peace processes, in line with the commitments made at the World Humanitarian Summit – (WHS). Moreover, they put much emphasis on the inclusion and protection of women with disabilities, given that – as recalled on the same occasion in the “Charter on the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action” – they are particularly exposed to targeted violence, exploitation and abuse, including sexual and gender-based violence.

Italy is also part of the “Call to Action on Protection from Gender-based Violence in Emergencies” since 2013 and has made commitments on tackling gender-based and sexual violence in humanitarian crises at the related Oslo Conference (23/24 May 2019). Finally, AICS actively participates in the work of the 4th NATIONAL ACTION PLAN ON WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY (WPS, 2020 – 2024)

In recent decades, the number of natural and man-made disasters and catastrophes has increased in frequency and magnitude causing unprecedented destruction. In crisis and conflict situations and in fragile states, the impact of disasters exacerbates needs, while also directly affecting the root causes and risk factors of multidimensional fragility – of an economic, political, security, social and human nature – and conflict. Likewise, conflict and fragility can amplify the impact of disasters, especially to the detriment of the most vulnerable communities, including women and girls who, although the primary victims of natural and man-made disasters, play key roles as agents of change for sustainable development.

Disaster risk reduction plays a priority role for Italian Cooperation, as demonstrated by the commitments signed in 2015, such as the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the UN Agenda 2030 (no less than 25 targets in the 17 SDGs are linked to natural disaster management), the Paris Agreement, the Humanitarian Aid Donors’ Declaration on Climate and Environment signed in 2022.

Italian Cooperation has adopted an integrated approach to risk management, which focuses in particular on early warning and anticipatory action, as evidenced by its adherence to the COP28 in 2023 and to the “Getting Ahead of Disasters” Charter, also thanks to localisation and people-centred approaches. The Agency also adopts an approach consistent with the Strategic Guidelines on the Humanitarian, Development and Peace Nexus, which combines anticipatory action, with immediate response to humanitarian needs and longer-term actions and social cohesion, especially in countries characterised by multidimensional fragility (social, political, environmental, economic, security and human capital). This commitment is reflected in the communiqué that followed the DAC High-Level Roundtable at COP28 on Climate Action and Finance in Fragile and Conflict-affected Contexts, in which Italy advocated the integration of risk management as well into the triple nexus approach.

Every year, millions of people are forced to leave their homes due to conflict, violence, human rights violations, persecution, disasters and the impacts of climate change. According to UNHCR, currently, more than 110 million people have been forced to flee their homes in search of safety elsewhere. Forced displacement is no longer a temporary phenomenon but has become increasingly prolonged, lasting on average 20 years for refugees and more than 10 years for most IDPs according to the EU.

At the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit – (WHS), under the “Core Commitment 3: Leave No One Behind – A Commitment to Address Forced Displacement”, Italy pledged to adopt a new approach to addressing forced displacement capable not only of meeting immediate humanitarian needs, but also reducing vulnerability and improving resilience, self-reliance and protection of refugees and IDPs.

In this context, therefore, the humanitarian action of AICS strives both to meet basic needs and to strengthen the resilience of both displaced and refugee populations and host communities. The Agency is also committed to responding to the needs of the population and, at the same time, addressing the structural causes of crises with coordinated initiatives of humanitarian aid, development and peace promotion, both on multilateral and bilateral channels, in accordance with the Guidelines on the Humanitarian, Development and Peace Nexus.

• Ordine di servizio n. 11565 del 25/10/2016

• Formati standard [ZIP]

• Procedure OSC aiuto umanitario – 2018
• Delibera del Comitato Congiunto n. 49/2018

• EU Aid Volunteers – Overview
2016, PPT

• EU Aid Volunteers – Certification procedures
2016, PPT

• Protezione delle donne in contesti di conflitto e catastrofe naturale

Gli operatori umanitari dell’Agenzia italiana per la cooperazione allo sviluppo (AICS) e delle Organizzazioni della società civile (Osc) sono impegnati a sostegno della popolazione locale con 14 progetti. 

Le iniziative sono state finanziate da AICS tramite un bando di primissima emergenza con un budget totale di 14 milioni di euro. Alle Organizzazioni della società civile (OSC), destinatarie del bando, è stato aggiudicato un importo complessivo pari a oltre 12 milioni di euro per i progetti selezionati. 

Circa 14.000 i beneficiari: sfollati, persone che rientrano nelle aree di origine con particolare riguardo per le donne, persone con disabilità, minori e anziani con bisogni particolari. Per migliorare le condizioni di vita di questa popolazione più vulnerabile, i progetti di assistenza umanitaria provvedono a fornire e distribuire beni di prima necessità – con particolare attenzione alle esigenze di genere, dei minori, degli anziani, delle persone con disabilità e delle minoranze – e a erogare servizi essenziali e rispondenti alle esigenze di genere. 

Schede Progetto:

1. PROGETTO: ASSISTENZA MULTISETTORIALE DI EMERGENZA ALLE POPOLAZIONI VULNERABILI COLPITE DAL CONFLITTO NELl’OBLAST DI KYIVSKA – WE WORLD
2. INTERVENTO DI PRIMA EMERGENZA A FAVORE DELLA POPOLAZIONE COLPITA DALLA CRISI IN UCRAINA – VIS
3. RELIEF – SUPPORTO MULTISETTORIALE ALLE ORGANIZZAZIONI LOCALI UCRAINE NELL’EROGAZIONE DI SERVIZI IN RISPOSTA AI BISOGNI URGENTI – SOLETERRE
4. ASSISTENZA SANITARIA E SUPPORTO PSICOSOCIALE IN FAVORE DELLA POPOLAZIONE SFOLLATA IN UCRAINA – MEDU
5. RISPOSTA INTEGRATA UMANITARIA E SANITARIA A FAVORE DELLA POPOLAZIONE SFOLLATA INTERNA E PIù VULNERABILE IN UCRAINA – CUAMM
6. INIZIATIVA DI EMERGENZA PER LE
   POPOLAZIONI VULNERABILI E SFOLLATE COLPITE DALLA CRISI UCRAINA A POLTAVSKA OBLAST – INTERSOS
7. PROTEGGIAMO GLI SFOLLATI INTERNI E LE COMUNITÀ NON SFOLLATE PIÙ VULNERABILI NELLA REGIONE DI CHERNIVTSI – HELPCODE
8. SOS – SERVIZI OSPEDALIERI SALVAVITA PER LE PERSONE IN SITUAZIONE DI EMERGENZA SANITARIA A MIKOŁAJÓW – TERRE DES HOMMES
9. INIZIATIVA DI ASSISTENZA UMANITARIA SALVAVITA ALLA POPOLAZIONE UCRAINA PRESSO LA CITTÀ DI ČERNIVCI – L’ALBERO DELLA VITA
10. RAZOM Z UKRAINOIU – INIZIATIVA DI EMERGENZA A SOSTEGNO DELLA POPOLAZIONE UCRAINA NELLE REGIONI DI IVANO FRANKIVSKA, CHERNIVETSKA E ODESSA – FOCSIV
11. PROGETTO MOTANKA: ASSISTENZA UMANITARIA MULTISETTORIALE ALLA POPOLAZIONE CIVILE VITTIMA DEL CONFLITTO IN UCRAINA – CONDIVISIONE FRA I POPOLI
12. SERVIZI INTEGRATI DI PRIMA EMERGENZA E PROTEZIONE PER LA POPOLAZIONE VULNERABILE DI BUCHA – CESVI
13. IRINA – INIZIATIVA DI RISPOSTA INTERSETTORIALE NELL’ASSISTENZA ALLE VITTIME DELLA CRISI UCRAINA – AVSI
14. BAMBINI PER LA PACE – INTERVENTO MULTISETTORIALE IN UCRAINA – AMICI DEI BAMBINI

Storie di rifugiati in Libano, a cura di Flavio Lovisolo, coordinatore regionale della Cooperazione italiana per la crisi siriana, con video e testi, scritti in collaborazione con Federica Marsi, pubblicati tra il 2015 e il 2016 su Huffington Post.

• Gharam

• Kosay

• Mahmoud

• Mariam

• Raja’a

• Fawda

• Victor

Stories of people: Dignity and rights beyond borders – AICS Addis Abeba, 2018, PDF